"Macbeth", the play by William Shakespeare, features the protagonist Macbeth of whom transforms from a noble general in the Scottish army into a tyrant. It is through MacbethÃÂs own actions that he becomes a tyrant, however one would wonder if he is responsible for his own destiny or if he is ruled by fate. The three weird sisters initiate his desire to become king and his realization of the actions that would need to be taken for this to occur. It is because of Lady MacbethÃÂs ambition to become royalty and her insistence that he kill King Duncan that Macbeth physically carries out the deed. However it is Macbeth himself who is responsible for his actions and evidently his own fate.

MacbethÃÂs superstitious beliefs lead him to trustthat the witchesÃÂ prophecies were true. His confidence in their prophecies is the initial catalyst in his demise. The weird sisters prophesied for Macbeth Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis, and King of Scotland.

Lady Macbeth by George Cattermole.

Macbeth Consulting the Vision of the Armed Head. B...

English: Poster of Thos. W. Keene in William Shake...

After the first two prophecies came true, it was Macbeth himself who mentioned taking action in order to fulfill the third prophecy. His best friend Banquo knew that ÃÂoftentimes, to win us to our harm,/ The instruments of darkness tell us truths,/ Win us with honest trifles, to betray us/ In deepest consequence.ÃÂ(I, iii, 132-135) However Macbeth was not as intelligent. Rather he temporarily convinced himself that ÃÂif chance will have [him] king, why, chance/ may crown [him],/ Without [his] stirÃÂ(I, iii, 154-156) implying that he believed every word that came out of their mouths. Despite his attempt to not play with fate, he couldnÃÂt seem to control his ambition for power. Moreover, when the witches foreshadowed MacbethÃÂs future, at no point did they indicate that what they said were truths. Consequently, it was Macbeth who chose to...

Reviews of: "Macbeth: By Fate or Choice?":

I really do not feel that this essay closes with the topic. Macbeth was the Thane of Glamis when the play opened. As a result of his handling of the rebellion, Duncan rewarded him by making him Thane of Cawdor, because Cawdor was a traitor in the rebellion that Macbeth had put down.

Macbeth shares the same notion that Banquo does, that the weird sisters tell superficial truths, while lying in the essence of the promise. Thus, they warn him that he can be beaten by "none of woman born," without warning him of the possibility of Caesarian birth.

But which controls in the end. Does Macbeth go to his doom because the weird sisters condemn him to it, or is it because he chooses to pursue what they promise?

In a wider sense, horoscopes remain very popular, with millions of people consulting them every day. They should sometimes ask themselves: are we merely puppets or automatons, set in motion with no control over our lives, or do we have some control?

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5 pages25Jan/20055.0

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